The Last Chevalier of the Songstress
by genocideray
Summary: Hagi and Saya are living in the Omoro with Kai and the twins; but their life is disrupted by the appearance of a presumed dead enemy. What revalations does Nathan Mahler bring? Set after an earlier fic, Towards the Future. Experimental mood shift writing.
1. Part I and II

**The Last Chevalier of the Songstress**

_Set after the events of Towards the Future _

**I. **_peaceful days_

Saya Otonashi closed her eyes, leant her head back against the solid warm mass of Hagi's chest and exhaled a contented breath. Her feet trailed along the two sides of the cool marble block that served as a bench for the family. She felt strangely at peace, despite the ruckus Diva's twin daughters, Rhea and Deanna, were making by having an all-out pillow fight around the house. The continuous giggling and screaming, with Kai thundering at them from his room to keep it down—to no effect— melded into a warm and pleasant buzzing and settled around her like a comfortable blanket. This time the peace was real, the memories, clear and joyful, untainted by blood or despair.

The noisy fracas poured from the living quarters into the restaurant area of the Omoro, the pillows flying thick and fast. Hagi turned to look at them, arms wrapped around Saya's waist, but did not otherwise react.

Then a stray pillow flew towards Saya's face. Before it hit her, Hagi's hand flicked upwards and deflected it away with a dull thump. Saya opened her eyes and turned to glance at the horrified twins, who had stopped tossing pillows and were looking over with horrified, widened eyes. Hagi's chest, behind Saya, vibrated pleasantly with the sound him clearing his throat. He dropped the pillow into Saya's lap.

"Girls." Hagi said, in his implacably serious voice, the only one that the twins listened to these days, "That's enough."

Saya patted Hagi's cheek with one hand, and placed her other on the arms around her, "It's okay, Hagi. I don't mind."

"You're spoiling them." Hagi said, frowning slightly at her. She chuckled softly, and tipped her head back to look at him with her large brown eyes, then pulled a face at him.

"Just a little. There's nothing wrong with that." Hagi sighed inwardly at Saya's irresistibly adorable wrinkled nose and pouted lips, knowing he would give in to her—even if he didn't have a centuries-old habit of obeying her, he doubted any man who loved her would be able to resist that look.

"Hmm." He was about to agree when a pillow hit him in his face. The two older Chiropterans turned to glare at the twins, two slight sixteen-year-old-looking girls dressed in dark, slim-cut dresses, who were both looking as innocent and picture-perfect as they could.

Saya and Hagi exchanged a glance, and then as one, the battle-seasoned pair returned the two pillows which had been flung over by the twins. The air grew thick with flying cushions again, punctuated by girlish laughter and the occasional soft snort of amusement from Hagi.

"**ALL RIGHT, THAT'S IT!! THE FOUR OF YOU KNOCK IT OFF, BEFORE I SHOOT!**" Kai, now nearly forty, with orange hair turning grey, yelled from the door, his gun poised to fire.

"And riddle your own pillows with holes? I don't think so." Saya retorted. She tossed a pillow at him, and it ricocheted off his face.

Kai glared at her, "You know, I liked you better when you were asleep."

Saya stuck her tongue out at him, as Rhea threw a pillow at Kai as well. It hit his legs and dropped onto the floor.

"Rhea! You shouldn't have done that!" Deanna exclaimed in mock-anger. "You should have done _this._" Her pillow bounced off Kai's still trim, but expanding, waistline, and his eyes narrowed.

"That's it." He stuffed his gun into his holster, picked up the pillows and –"Eat this!"—pelted the four Chiropterans with it.

The fight lasted for another five minutes or so, in which Hagi and Saya temporarily allied with the two twins against Kai. When the twins broke the truce, the offended pair teamed up with Kai in revenge, and together, they drove the girls, who were screaming more vulgarities than Saya had believed existed, further back into the Omoro's kitchen.

"Oh dear me, am I interrupting something?"

An effeminate—and uncomfortably familiar—voice called from the door. The pillow-fighters froze instantly and pivoted towards the door, immediately battle-ready. Saya's eyes widened in shock, even as Hagi instantly took up his defensive position in front of her. The bandages that bound his clawed hand fell off and fluttered to the ground. A foppish blond, dressed expensively in frills stood at the door, smiling at them.

"Nathan Mahler!" Saya exclaimed in disbelief.

* * *

**II. **_faces of the past_

Kai's eyes suddenly widened with recognition in a manner that was almost comical, and then narrowed into a dangerous glare all at once. Stepping in front of his adopted daughters protectively, he held up his gun.

The newcomer held up his hands, "Oh dear, all hackles raised, I see. I assure you, I'm here in peace."

Saya stepped towards Hagi, who was a split second away from attacking, and put a gentle restraining hand on his arm. Hagi stepped back slightly, but ensured that he remained between Diva's last Chevalier and Saya. Kai, however, kept his gun trained on the blond.

"Nathan Mahler…?" Deanna asked, her eyes wary.

Rhea frowned at Kai, "…wasn't he one of our mother's Chevaliers?"

"Yes, he is." Saya replied, her eyes troubled and wary. "But thirty two years ago, I stabbed him with my blood." She turned to him, frowning, "Are any of the other of Diva's Chevaliers alive? I-is Diva still-?"

The Chiropteran smiled mysteriously. The people in the Omoro jumped slightly when he replied, as his voice had dropped nearly an octave in pitch, and lost all feminine speech patterns and intonations. "…Diva's….Chevalier? Yes …you would think that. But…" He turned around and bowed.

"M'lady? Will you come in?"

Saya tensed, as a beautiful, clear voice, replied from the outside, "Oh, Nathaniel, I daren't go in. Tell them for me." _It cannot be! Has she, too, survived?_

"M'lady, I can tell them the facts, I can tell them what happened. But I cannot tell them what you felt, or believed, or suffered. I cannot unburden your heart. I _cannot_ tell them for you." His voice was nowhere like Nathan Mahler's any longer, now it was stronger, tenderer, and more intense.

It reminded Saya unnervingly of Solomon, Solomon who had loved her and died defending her; it reminded her sweetly, too, of Hagi, his gentle supportive strength even before they became lovers, Hagi whom had surrendered all to her when there was nothing for him to gain. _Like a devoted Chevalier, one who truly cared._

"Nathaniel …" The voice was half-exasperated, half-pleading.

"I am with you, Lady."

There was a pause, then a sigh. Then, led by the Chevalier, a woman stepped in, dressed entirely in black, staring pensively at the floor, her long dark hair rippling around her face and neck. Saya let out a breath in relief. _It is not Diva._

The relief lasted till the woman looked up at Saya for a moment before quickly lowering her eyes again. _Age, _that single glance screamed at Saya, _eyes that have seen too much, too long._ And a single word thundered in her brain. _Chiropteran!_

The former Nathan Mahler smoothly assumed a defensive position in front of the woman. The nuances were not lost on Hagi, who lowered his guard further.

"Hagi?" Saya asked in a curious whisper.

"He serves the woman now." Hagi whispered back, slipping his arm around Saya protectively and possessively, "and I don't sense ill intent from her."

Nathan Mahler bowed in a courtly manner, "My name is Nathaniel Miller, the First Chevalier of Lady Bianca, of the 43rd generation of Chiropteran Queens. This is m'lady Bianca, a Queen of the Chiropterans. M'lady?"

The Lady sighed deeply. "I know. This is something that I decided to do." She took a deep breath, looked up at Saya and said, "There is a story I must tell. Perhaps if we could all relax--?" Her voice trailed off when she finally noticed Kai's gun and glare.

Saya turned to look at her brother, whose eyes glowered with protective fierceness, "Kai, maybe we _should_ all just relax."

Kai slowly lowered his gun. "Fine. We'll hear you out. But I still don't trust them."

The Lady smiled mysteriously and slightly sadly in response, but began her story.

_to be continued_

* * *

Disclaimer: Blood, its concept and characters are the intellectual property of Production IG and Aniplex. This piece of fiction was written for non-commercial enjoyment.


	2. Part III

**The Last Chevalier of the Songstress**

_Set after the events of Towards the Future _

**III. **_a time we can never return to_

"There was a time when Chiropterans and humans co-existed peacefully—We were two twin empires, living side by side. The humans would donate blood to us, enough for our sustenance, and in return, we had one duty towards them. We tended to the sick and the wounded, those near death. You know, Saya, that if a Queen transfers her blood to a human through her mouth, the human becomes a Chevalier. But, also, if a human were to drink a Queen's blood, without it mingling with her saliva, their healing abilities would increase for a short span of time. We were their medical staff, their elixir to life, as they were ours. It was a symbiotic relationship; both parties gained from this system."

"The Queens of the Chiropterans were brought up to understand and respect the humans, and to control the bloodlust in Chiropteran nature, by the Queen Mothers in the generation before. And in order to—"

"A…Queen…Mother?" Saya asked. The Lady smiled briefly, and continued in her clear, fountain-sweet voice.

"The Queen Mothers are the previous generation of Queens, raising the young Queens. As you know, in every Chiropteran pregnancy, a pair of twins is born. To control our population size, only one of the twins would be allowed to have children. She was designated _Mére_. Also, the only one who could make Chevaliers was her twin, designated _Créateur_. When the next generation of Queens had been born, both of these roles were given to the newborns, and the older Queens were then known, collectively, as Queen Mothers."

"I see."

"As I was saying, in order to fully understand my story, you need to know of one of our traditions—that of the appointment of the First Chevalier. At the start of the first cycle of hibernation, the young Queens would pick six humans each to be made to Chevaliers by the _Créateur_. At the end of their fifth cycle of hibernation, the young Queens would each pick one of their respective Chevaliers to be their First Chevalier, an equivalent of the human husband. Eventually, when the _Mére_ conceived, the Queen Mothers would leave their progeny, and with their own First Chevaliers and Chevaliers, they would go away to the Chiropteran birthplace, and take the waters of eternal sleep."

The perfect façade of composure cracked. "As was I, your mother… was of the 43rd generation of Queens born..."

Saya remained impressively unruffled, "Which makes you my aunt."

"…yes." The woman closed her eyes in pain, "And all that happened was my fault." Her slight shoulders folded towards herself, and Nathan— Nathaniel Miller—turned to her , concerned.

"M'lady…"

"I'm fine, Nathaniel." The woman lifted her head up proudly, and Saya was impressed by the amount of determination she saw in those eyes. "I must be strong." She took in a shaking breath.

"It was the day that our Queen Mothers and their entourage left. We had appointed our First Chevaliers about a year ago; my sister was pregnant and helpless to defend herself, but _I_ was the one that was curled up in my room, crying inconsolably for my Queen Mothers, with my Chevaliers comforting me. If only I had not been wrapped up in my own misery, I might have saved Regina. You see, my sister's Chevaliers had been very deeply upset with her."

"My sister started an affair with a human man at the end of her fourth cycle of hibernation, and fell in love with him. Against our Queen Mothers' advice, I agreed to make him a Chevalier. While Queens usually pick the First Chevalier based on their loyalty and affection through the five cycles they had served her, she had picked this newcomer instead. They all saw him as an upstart, and were half-mad with rage and jealousy. But they had not dared to move when our Queen Mothers and their Chevaliers were present. But once the entourage left, her Chevaliers struck."

"Driven by mad rage, they killed her First Chevalier. He probably tried to defend her, but they were too strong. One on six and the experience of centuries— if I had been with my sister, or if I had gone out together with my Chevaliers, I could have stopped them easily. But—when I heard the fighting, and the screaming, I was too afraid to go out, coward that I was. I sent my Chevaliers off, one by one, to check what happened."

Her eyes were suddenly bitterly angry with herself, "I sent them to their deaths. Finally, only Nathaniel was left, and he refused to leave me alone, knowing something was amiss. He bolted the door shut, but the six of them broke into my room, blood-splattered and madness in their eyes. They told me they wanted to kill my sister and asked for some of my blood. I was terrified, and I refused, but Nathaniel told them they could have some, if they allowed us to escape unscathed—and if they killed themselves afterwards. They agreed, and I fainted at some point as they approached me."

Kai was glaring at Nathaniel Miller now, "You bastard, you enabled them to kill a _pregnant woman_?"

The Chevalier looked at him with equanimity, "You tried to kill Diva, and she was pregnant too."

Kai snapped, "That was different. We were trying to protect people from—"

"And _I_ was trying to protect my Queen."

Hagi's arm tightened around Saya's waist, and his eyes narrowed with an indefinable emotion. Saya gripped his free arm reassuringly and smiled up at him. Nathaniel Miller continued,

"Besides, there _are_ ways to kill a Chiropteran without antagonistic blood, slower and more painful ways. They had strayed from their Lady, and they were uncontrollable. If I agreed to trade them my Queen's blood, Lady Regina would die quickly and painlessly, but my Queen would survive. If I fought them, I would lose, and both Queens would die, slowly. Either way, Lady Regina was doomed. All I could do was ensure my Queen would survive. Any of you would have done the same."

"Still—!" Kai exclaimed.

"I understand your anger," the Lady said, smiling sadly, "Perhaps more than you do. When I finally came to, we were far from the only place I knew, and Nathaniel was carrying me in his arms. I blamed him for saving me. I said…unforgivable things, cruel things. I told him that he was a monster, that he was unfit to be a First Chevalier; that I should never have chosen him. He just bowed his head and said nothing. I thought he didn't care, and finally, I struck him across his cheek and told him that I never wanted to see him again. Then I ran from him. He chased me, but I escaped. I managed to make it seem as if I had gone to the cave of eternal sleep, and taken of the waters."

"I watched as Nathaniel came in, and saw the fake traces of death I had laid. I watched, hidden, as he collapsed onto his knees in grief. The part of me who loved him would have gone out to him then— but at that time, there was also part of me who hated him, and it was a much larger part—so I stayed hidden. If I had gone out then—perhaps all this wouldn't have happened—but—I didn't. When he finally left, his eyes had changed, and I was afraid to go after him. So I knelt in the cave, asking my Queen Mothers, who had gone forever, for guidance. They were silent. I knelt there in despair for two, or three hibernation cycles, praying and thinking and agonising over what to do, what had been done. They were still silent."

"And then, one day in 1830, I heard a voice. It was singing in my head, a beautiful, soul-searing voice from very far away. The song… it was haunting, despairing, violent and yet delicate all at the same time. The Chiropteran blood in me resonated with that song. I longed to fully transform, to run, to fight, and to rip blood from my enemies' throat."

"Diva." Saya said woodenly. Hagi, sensing her distress, pulled her a little tighter to himself.

"Yes, it was Diva, the first time she came to maturity. Her song was…. so powerful, and so sorrowful. I realised for the first time that my sister's children had not died. I realised the Queens I should have raised with Regina were alive, that if I hadn't ran from Nathaniel, perhaps we would have been raising them together. I wanted to see him again. I wanted to see both you, Saya, and Diva. I broke into a hospital, took some sustenance and then transformed and flew towards the song, flew for thousands of leagues, tracking down the singer."

"Finally, I found the Zoo. The next few weeks I spent gathering information about the children I shoukd have raised—Saya… and the nameless ghost or girl in the tower with the voice of an angel. When I realised what those dammed scientists were doing, I was ready to attack them and to get both of you out of there. I had the perfect opportunity, but when I could have attacked Amshel and Joel Goldsmidth, just as I was about to strike, I saw … Nathaniel. I saw a Nathaniel as I had never seen him before, hateful and spiteful and petty and cruel."

The woman stopped speaking now; her lips tightened, her pretty face compressed into a frown. Nathaniel Miller turned his head from her, looking pained and ashamed.

"Bianca, I have told you before, I am not proud of what I was… or what I have done. I was there only because I wanted to see what they would do to Lady Regina's children…To tell the truth, I hated both you and them at that point in time. I blamed you for dying and them for causing your death, because I didn't want to blame myself. And if you had attacked at that time, I don't know if I'd have fought for or against you. I—" The woman stopped his lips with a delicate hand.

"I know, Nathaniel." There was forgiveness, regret, apology and a thousand words unspoken in those three words. "Well, when I saw Nathaniel, I knew that whatever he became… was partially my fault…and I couldn't face it. I fled again, doing nothing to divert the course of history, isolating myself from everything."

"I thought everything would be fine. No—I _wanted_ everything to be fine. So I shut my ears and closed my eyes, and refused to acknowledge that anything could go wrong. When news of the disaster at the Zoo reached me, I told myself that the children had died, Nathaniel was lost to me, that all I could do was to suffer centuries in penance. And later, when uncontrollable Chiropteran copies surfaced all over the world, I convinced myself that it wasn't my problem; that Nathaniel would do something to stop Diva, since he was with her, even when all the evidence said otherwise…"

"And then you turned up to fight, Saya, you and Red Shield, I breathed a sigh of relief, and told myself I made the right choice. But… I realised, somewhere along the line, in ignoring what I needed to do, I placed the burden which should have been the remaining Queen Mother's, mine, on your shoulders instead, Saya."

The Lady lowered her head, and then made a full, formal bow, "I-- I'm so sorry, Saya."

Saya shook her head, "It wasn't your fault."

The Lady looked up, tears trickling down her cheek, eyes wide with relief, "Then, you—forgive me?"

"There is nothing to forgive. You were afraid, and you ran away. If I blame you for that, then I should blame myself for my adopted father's death." Saya looked round at her family, before continuing, "I ran too. I ran from the truth, I ran from Kai and Rick, and from Red Shield. I ran from myself, and—" She leaned back against the tall cellist, looked up into his veiled eyes, "—even Hagi. Both of us were scared, and so we both ran."

"But _you _stopped to fight in the end."

Saya held on tightly to Hagi's encircling arm. "Only because I couldn't run faster than all of them— I couldn't outrun the two brothers who never stopped believing in me, nor my father's memory, who trusted me to follow my heart, no matter what happened. I couldn't outrun the Chevalier always by my side, who loved me, no matter what I did, despite everything. And so, because of their love, I had to stop running. And because I stopped, I found that even when the odds were overwhelming, when I faced what I needed to do, with my friends and family around me, I could overcome."

"You—" The Lady said, her eyes widened. Then she smiled too, with a touch of sadness, "You are very like Regina."

_to be continued_

* * *

Disclaimer: Blood, its concept and characters are the intellectual property of Production IG and Aniplex. This piece of fiction was written for non-commercial enjoyment.


	3. Part IV and V

**The Last Chevalier of the Songstress**

_Set after the events of Towards the Future _

**IV.**_ atonement and farewell_

"Wait a second." Kai snarled. "I don't swallow that sob story. You may have fooled Saya and Hagi and the entire world, but not me. Saya, how do you know she isn't the real one behind all of Amshel's and Diva's plots? The puppetmaster behind the puppets? For one thing, how the hell is that Chevalier with her, if she wasn't on Diva's side?"

In a split second, Kai landed on the floor, an impressive bruise forming on his face, courtesy of a furious Nathaniel Miller.

"You _dare_ say that about my Queen? You don't know what she's suffered; you have no right to slander her like that."

Rhea and Deanna sprang forward at once, their eyes glowing green and gold respectively. Rhea knelt by Kai, and Deanna stood in front of them, teeth bared, fists clenched and snarling. Both girls glared at Nathaniel Miller, who himself, stood protectively in front of his Lady. Saya and Hagi tensed imperceptibly, ready to fight as well.

"Nathaniel, no." Bianca put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Bianca…"

"He's right. They don't have a reason to trust us." Nathaniel Miller took a look at the defensive twin Queens, and Kai who had sat up, cradling his jaw but still glaring, and adverted his eyes again.

"Yes, Lady."

"Rhea, Deanna. Calm down as well." Saya said, "Kai, are you hurt?"

Kai snorted, "Only my pride. Although after he punched me out like that, I'm a little more inclined to believe them."

Bianca walked forward, and knelt before Kai, eye-to-eye with him.

"If you want proof that I was not allied with Diva, I cannot give you that. You only have my word, and my sincerity. As to why Nathaniel is with me…." The slender woman smiled, traces of embarrassment and memory in her eyes. She stood up, and held out a hand to her First Chevalier, who took at once.

"I was watching the news in the street, watching as Diva's broadcast was abruptly terminated. There was a brief interlude, and then, I heard two warplanes arrive. Option D. Without knowing why, I ran towards the Opera House, but not fast enough. I hadn't drunk blood for too long and my powers were low. By the time I reached there, all that was left was rubble. I thought that Nathaniel had died, buried somewhere in there. I thought I hated him, thought that I never wanted to see him again, but yet, I wept and wept continuously."

"I think I must have screamed out his name. And then—he was there, arms around me, and I was too shocked to move. He carried me away to one of his houses. When we both finally calmed down, we…talked, and I told him that if he wanted to serve as my First Chevalier again, he could. He told me I didn't need to ask if he wanted to. That is why he with me, Saya's brother. Do you believe me now?"

Kai harrumphed softly, as he picked himself up and dusted his rear off, "Unfortunately, not really."

"I believe her," Hagi said, "After the bombing… I heard someone crying and screaming as I lay there, healing, and I heard the rubble shift beside me. I was too weak to move, and when I finally managed to get up, there were bloodstained footprints around, but no one there at all."

Kai raised his eyebrows at the cellist, who, deadpan, raised his eyebrows back in response. The orange-and-grey haired man sighed, "Fine, since Hagi backs up your story. But why tell us all this now?"

"What do you mean?" the oldest Queen looked confused.

"I mean, why bother to come and tell us all this? We didn't need to know all of what happened thousands of years ago. I mean, it's nice to know and all, but why?"

Nathaniel Miller gently pulled his Lady back towards him, "Bianca and I—have decided that it is time for us to go searching for the Chiropteran birthplace."

Saya's eyes widened, "You can't possibly mean…"

Bianca nodded, "Yes. We plan to take the waters of eternal sleep together."

"But—" Hagi said, reminded unpleasantly of his promise to Saya. Kai clenched his jaw, his face splotching over with spots of red.

"This visit," Bianca continued, "is part of a pilgrimage that all Chiropterans participate in before going to the cave. We ask forgiveness for our actions from those still living, and pray for it by the graves of those who have died."

"What bullshit is this?" Kai yelled, his face crimson with rage, unable to hold back any longer. "You're running away again, aren't you?! If you're alive, at least you can be happy! You can live for tomorrow, live your dreams and—"

"What if you've lived all your dreams already?" Bianca asked gently.

"What?" Kai asked, derailed from his train of thoughts, and gaping like a fish.

Nathaniel Miller shook his head, "Don't mistake this. We aren't doing this because we don't want to live anymore. We are doing this because we have already come to terms with what we want, what we have done in this world."

Bianca continued, "Chiropterans live longer than humans; for nearly eternity. There are billions and billions of things everyone wants to do, but eventually, when the most important things have been done, this world will pale and become ghostly, unimportant. We've already lived all our dreams, even nightmares, in this world." She smiled, "and over there, there are people I want to meet again, to apologise to, to hold closely. Diva, Regina, my Queen Mothers, my other Chevaliers, they've been watching, and waiting for me, in the next great adventure. And since Nathaniel is going with me, I don't have anything to regret."

Saya moved forward towards the woman, shook her head, "I… wanted to die too… once, so I should be able to understand you. But, the truth is, I can't understand your motivations."

"No, Saya," Bianca said gently, smiling, her eyes shining softly with regret and love, "You cannot understand us yet. For now, live on. And when you finally understand us, know that there is a place for you to go."

"And there is nothing I can do to—"

"You've already done enough…sweetheart." Bianca said, her eyes wrinkling with pleasure, and she brushed Saya's cheek tenderly. "And someday, we will meet again." She stepped away, eyes glimmering with soft tears. She let go of her First Chevalier's hand, turned towards the door, "But it is about time we must go."

"Won't you… stay for lunch at least?" Deanna burst out, "I mean, I don't really get what's going on, or any of this, but…"

"Yeah, I mean, we sort of believe you now, and it's no problem really," Rhea added.

"Thank you, Ladies, but we cannot." Bianca said softly, her back to the family of five, "We have a long journey ahead, and little time left." She turned around to look at her Chevalier, "Nathaniel?"

The blond smiled as he joined her, "Yes, Lady." He put an arm around his Queen.

"Hagi," the former Nathan Mahler said.

"Yes?"

"Take care of your lady." And with that, the two people vanished from the doorway of the Omoro, into the bright afternoon sky, never to be seen again.

**V.** _first chevaliers_

Lunch that day was slightly more muted. The twins twitched uncomfortably in their chairs, while the adults sat, wrapped in deep thought.

Finally, Deanna, unable to take the silence any longer, spoke up in an overly-bright tone, "Hey! You know I was thinking about what Lady Bianca said this afternoon."

The table was silent.

Rhea burst in as well, "Yeah, and actually so was I!"

Kai snorted, "So what, you little monkeys?" The tension around the table snapped like breaking ice, and the twins heaved an internal sigh of relief.

"Well…." The twins looked at each other, and then they grinned, horribly. "Aunt Saya's fifth cycle of hibernation just ended, right?"

Saya's eyes widened. "You guys—"

Rhea continued, "And the First Chevalier is picked during that time…."

Kai's eyes lit up with sudden understanding, even as Saya's face crimsoned over.

"…So, Aunt Saya…" Deanna continued,

"When are you proposing to Hagi?" The three chorused together.

"There's no need for such a thing! We've already—" Saya stopped all too abruptly, and her face turned even redder. Even Hagi's normally placid face started showing a tinge of pink. "Come on, Hagi, let's take a walk." She grabbed his wrist and they ran out into the garden, with three gleeful figures running after them, laughing and calling after them.

"Already what, Aunt Saya?"

"Complete the sentence!"

"Come back here, Saya—"

"And Uncle Hagi…"

"We want _details._"

* * *

The two stood on the building watching the playfully laughing family outside the Omoro.

"Bianca, do you really want to leave it as that?"

The woman smiled up at the man holding her, "I'm content to. They're happy."

"And you?" his voice was worried.

"Me? I'm not afraid of anything anymore, Nathaniel. Not as long as you're with me. Now, come on. Let's go find the Birthplace together."

"Together." The figures vanished from the roof.

And the single word, full of promise, spun onwards in the wind, floating into infinity and eternity.

**FIN**

* * *

Disclaimer: Blood, its concept and characters are the intellectual property of Production IG and Aniplex. This piece of fiction was written for non-commercial enjoyment.


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